mustain



(No Model.) i 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

- s. A MUSTAIN.

SWITCH FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

No. 573,344. Patented-Dec. 15,1896.

(No Model.) i 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

S. A. MUSTAIN. SWITCH PCR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

No. 573,344. Patented Deo. 15, 1896.

NrrEn STATES PATENT EErcE.

ASSIGNOR TO BAILEY J. MUSTAIN, OF SAME PLACE.

SWITCH FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 573,344, dated:December 15, 1896. Application filed .Tune 22, 1896. Serial No.596.438. (No mode-l.)

To @ZZ whom t nm/ U concern:

13e it known that I, SHAnRAcH A. MUsTArN, of the city of Rincon, Doa Aacounty, Territory of New Mexico, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Switches for Electric Railways, of which the followingis apfull, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying draw` ings, forming a part hereof.

My inventionrelates to an improved switch for electric railways; and itconsists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement ofparts hereinafter described and claimed. y

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved switch forelectric railways, showing the switch closed. Fig. 2 is a transversesectional view on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view onthe line 3 3 of Fig. 4. Fig. 4- is an enlarged detail plan of a part ofthe switch, showin gthe switch open. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectionalview on the line 5 5 of Fig. Ll. Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line6 6 of Fig. 1. Fig. 7isa sectional view on the line 7 7 of Fig. 4E. Fig.Sis a top plan view, partly in section, of the part shown in Fig. 6.Fig. 9 is a perspective of a stop which is shown in section in Fig. 6and in plan in Fig. S.

Referring by numerals to the accompany ing drawings, 1 and 2 are themain-line rails, and 3 and 4 are the main-line trolley-wires foroperating the car-brakes.

5 and 6 are the mainline trolley-wires for operating the car-motors.

7 is the trolley-Wire of the switch for operating the brake, and 8 isthe trolley-wire of the switch for operating the car-motor.

9 is the outside rail of the side-track, and 10 is the movableswitch-rail.

In the construction of my main line I use the sills 11 and l2. Mountedupon said sills are plates 13 and 14E, and posts 15 and 16 have theirlower ends attached to said plates. Some distance below the upper endsof said posts a cross-bar 17 is positioned, and braces 18 and 19 havetheirlower ends attached near l the center of said cross-bar 17 andtheir up* per ends attached to the upper ends of the posts 15 and 16, asshown in Fig. 2.

All the rails used in my present invention have wide Wedge-shaped webs,the lower edge of the rail being drawn down comparatively thin, as shownin cross-section in Fig. 7 and on a smaller scale in Figs. 2 and 5.

. The rails 1 and 2 have their edges inserted in slots in `the upperends of the posts 15 and 1.6, and bolts pass through said posts andthrough said rails, holding them rmly in position. The road-bed underthe movable parts of the switch is constructed as shown in cross-sectionin Fig. 5. The crosssills 20 are mounted upon the sills 11 and 12, and

Vslightly below the center of the posts 15 and 16 are cross-beams 21, onthe centers of which are located bearings 22, and the shaft 23 ismounted in said bearings. Posts 24E and 25 are mounted upon thecross-sills 20 in a vertical position and carry at their upper endsrollers 26 and 27, upon which rollers rests av `cut in the posts 15 and16.

The movable switch-rail10 is mounted upon the centers of the bars 28 bymeans of the posts 36. The shaft 23 is somewhat shorter than the movableswitch-rail 10 and is positioned directly beneath the center of motionof said movable switch-rail. At convenient distances apart upon theshaft 23 are located gear-wheels 37, meshing into the racks 29 on thebars 28 and arranged in such a way that rotation of the shaft 23 movessaid bar 28 transversely of the road-bed as required to carry the freeend of the movable switch-rail 10 from one rail of the main-line trackto the other when it is desired to either open or close the switch. Thegear-wheels 37 upon the shaft 23 are graduated in size, the largestbeingnear the free end of the switch-rail 10 and the smallest near the hingedend of said rail and as required t-o move the free end of the rail andIOO the parts supporting it without moving the opposite end. Upon eachside of the movable switch-rail 10 are connecting trolley-wires 38 and39, supported by posts 40 and 41, said posts having a V-shaped slot intheir upper end in which said trolley-wires are inserted, and bolts 42and 43 are positioned horizontally through said posts and trolley-wires.The bases of the posts 40 and 41 are positioned in recesses 44 and 45 inthe upper face of the bars 28. The lower face of the base of each postis recessed, as indicated at 4G in Fig. 7, and said recess is filledwith balls 47, thus forming a ball-bearing for said trolleywires.

A flexible wire 48 connects the ends of the brake-operatingtrolley-wires 3 and 4, there being considerable space between the endsof said wires. A flexible wire 49 connects the main-line motor-wire 5with the connectingwire '39, and a similar flexible wire 50 connects theopposite end of said connecting-wire 39 with the main-line motor-wire O.A flexible wire 5l connects the brake-operating wire 3 of the main linewith the brake-operating wire 7 of the switch, and a iexible wire 52connects the end of the motor-Wire 5 with one end of the connecting-wire38 and a similar flexible wire 53 connects the kopposite end of saidconnecting-Wire 38 with the end'of the motor-o peratin g wire 8 of theswitch, as shown in Fig. l.

A stop 54 (shown in plan in Fig. 8 and perspective in Fig. 9) ispositioned near the eenter of the track and in the line of travel of thefree end of the movable switch-rail l0 for the purpose of limiting thelateral motion of the connecting trolley-wires 3S and 39, the ends ofsaid wires being designed to contact with s aid stop when said wireshave been moved far enough to make the connections for which they aredesigned. The lower part of said trolley-wi-res is bent to one side, asshown in section in Fig. 8, and said stop is placed directly in linewith the motor-operating trolley-wire 5. Said stop is so shaped and sopositioned that the trolley-wire comes directly over the center of thestop no matter from which side it approaches, as shown in Fig. G.

My improved switch is intended for use upon railway-lines where cars arerun without attendants, and for this reason I employ one trolley-wire tooperate the brake on the car and another trolley-wire to furnish themotive power to the car. The trolley-wires are placed between the railsand somewhat below them, as shown in Fig'. 2.

As w-ill be noticed in Fig. l, there is a break between thebrake-controlling wires 3 and 4 of a length equal to lthe length of theeonnecting-wire 39, and there is a similar break between thebrake-controlling wire 3 of lthe main line and the brake-controllingwire7 of the switch. At this peint there is no means of controlling a carwhich is passing over the track unattended, but the distance is shortand the brakes may be set on the car immediatcly before or immediatelyafter passing these points.

In the practical operation of my improved switch the shaft 23 is rotatedin any convenient way, thus rotating the gear-wheels 37 and moving thebars 28 by means of the racks 29. The bars 28 carry the movableswitch-rail l0 from one of the main-line rails to the other, as requiredto open or close the switch.

When the main line is open, as shown in Fig. l, the free end of themovable switchrail l0 rests against the end of the side-track rail 9 andnear to the end of the main-track rail l. The connecting-wire 38,carried by the roller-bearings 47 under the post 40 and in the recesses44, is moved only one-half as far as the movable switch-rail 10, andwhen said rail is in position to open the main-line track saidconnecting-wire 38 lies parallel with the rail and but a short distanceto the outside thereof, the base of the post 40 abutting against thebase of the post 3G and the front end of said connecting-wire retreatsinto the recess 34 in the post l5. During this operation theconnecting-wire 39, which had previously laid close beside the movableswitchrail 10, strikes against the stops 54, one at each end of saidconnecting-wire, and is held thereby from passing the center of thetrack and in alinement with the motor-operating main-line wires 5 and G.Then the switch is open and the main line closed, this operation isreversed, the connecting-wires 38 and 39 assuming the position relativeto the movable switch-rail 10 as shown in Fig. 4, the .ends of theconnecting-wire 38 striking against the stops 54, one in the center ofthe main-line track and one in the center of the switch-track, and thusmake connection between the motor-operating wires 5 and 8'.

rlhe recesses 44 and 45 in the bars 28 are of sufficient length to carrythe connecting-wires 38 and 39 just far enough to put them in alinementwith the stationary wires, as required, and the stops 54 on each end ofsaid wires prevent them lgoing too far and thus held them in alinement,as required.

I have not attempted to shower describe any means of rotating the shaft23 and thus operate the gears 37 for the reason that the means bestadapted to this purpose will depend very largely upon the conditions andlocation and requirements of the system to which the switch is to beapplied. In some cases it may be convenient to get power directly from asteam plant for this purpose and in other cases it may be necessary tooperate the switch manually, and, again, an electric motor may bearranged for operating the switch-moving mechanism and operated in thesame way and by the same attendant that operates the motor and brakecurrents.

I have not shown or described any ins'ula- IOO IIO

tion in connection with my switch for the rea son that the insulationand ground connections necessary to operate an electric railroad arewell known to those familiar with the art,

and I have invented nothing new in this line beyond the flexibleconnections and movable connecting-wires, as already shown anddescribed.

By making the rails with a wide Wedgeshaped web, instead of the usualweb and flanges, I am able to get greater strength with less weight andam thus able to place t-he supporting ties or posts farther apart.

A trolley-wire constructed, as I have shown, with a wide wedge-shapedweb supported by posts enables the trolley-wheel of the car to run oversaid wire at a very high rate of speed without jumping the wire, and atthe same time it makes a strong durable wire that is not liable to beinjured by being placed low down between the rails.

In the construction of a switch in a railway in which the trolleys areplaced between the rails and in which there are two trolleys, one foroperating the motor and one for operating the brake, I iind that thereis a great advantage in using but three rails, one stationary main-linerail and one stationary sidetrack rail and a movable rail between saidstationary rails, as already shown and described, the particular objectof this construction being to provide means for switching themotor-trolley from the main-line wire to the side-track wire. I am notaware that this can be done or has been ydone in any other way than thatshown by me herein.

There are various ways in which this construction may be made useful;but the particular object which I have in view is to control dump-carsor freightcars which pass over a line unattended and are to becontrolled and switched by manipulation of electric currents andmechanism by persons not upon the cars.

I claim-- 1. In a railway, a stationary main-line rail, a stationaryside-track rail, a movable switchrail positioned between said stationaryrails, posts supporting said movable rail, sliding bars carrying saidposts, rollers under said sliding bars, posts supporting said rollers,toothed racks upon said bars, gear-wheels meshing into and operatingsaid toothed racks, `and a shaft connecting said gearwheels.

2. In a railway, a movable switch-rail, sliding bars carrying said rail,a section of trolley-wire positioned on each side of and parallel withsaid movable rail, flexible connections between the ends of one of saidtrolleywire sections and the main-line trolley-wire, a flexibleconnection between one of the other trolley-sections and the main-linetrolley-wire and a flexible connection between the other end of saidlast-mentioned section and the side-track trolley-wire.

3. In a railway, amovable switch-rail, sliding bars carrying said rail,recesses in said sliding bars upon each side of said rail, postsmovablyL mounted in said recesses, a section of trolley-wire carried bysaid posts, there being one section of trolley-wire on each side of saidmovable rail and in position parallel with said rail, means of operatingsaid slidingbars, and stops to limit the lateral movement of saidtrolley-wire sections.

4. In a railway, a main-line trolley-wire in two sections, the adjacentends of said sections being some distance apart,`a side-tracktrolley-wire having one end adjacent one end of one section of themain-line wire, flexible connections between the opposite section of themain-line wire, and said side-track wire and flexible connectionsbetween the two sections of main-line wire, connecting-sections oftrolley-wire so positioned and operated as to make the main-line wirecontinuous when the main line is open and to make the sidetrack wirecontinuous with one section of the main-line wire when the side-track isopen.

5. In a railway, a stationary main-line rail, a stationary side-trackrail, a movable switchrail between said stationary rails, mechanism formoving the free end of said movable switch-rail from one of saidstationary rails to the other, a motor-operating trolley-wire mountedbetween the rails of the main line upon each side of the section oftrack occupied by said movable switch-rail, a brake-operatin gtrolley-wire mounted beside said motor-operating trolley-wire, aground-wire connecting the end of the brake-operating trolley-wire uponone side of the switch with the end of the brake-operating trolley-wireon the opposite side of the switch, a motor-operating trolley-wirebetween the side track rails, a brake-operatin g trolley-wire betweenthe side-track rails, a ground-wire connecting the end of saidbrake-operating trolley-wire with the end of the brake-operatingtrolleywire of the main line which is upon the opposite side of theswitch, movable sections of the motoroperating trolley-wire mounted uponopposite sides of said movable switchrail, flexible connections betweenthe ends of said movable sections and the ends of the immovablesections, and means of moving said switch-rail and said movable sectionsof trolley-wire, substantially as specified.

(5. In a railway, the sills 11 and l2, the

`plates I3 and la attached to said sills,`the

posts l5 and 1G attached to said plates, the cross-bar 17 connecting theupper parts. of said posts, the braces 18 and 19 having their lower endsattached to the center of said cross-bar and their upperends attached tothe upper ends of said posts l5 and 16 respectively, the rails l and 2having wide wedge-shaped webs mounted with the lower edges of said websin slots in the upper ends of said posts l5 and 16, bolts passingthrough IOO IIO

said posts and said webs to hold said rails securely in position, theposts 40 and 4l supported by said cross-bar 17, the motor-operatingtrolleywire 5 supported by said post .t0 and the brake-operatingtrolley-wire 3 supported by the post 41, substantially as speciiied.

7. In a railway, the main-line rails l and 2, the main-linebrake-operating trolley-wires 3 and 4 mounted between said main-lnerails l and 2, the main-line motor-operating trolley-wires 5 and 6mounted beside said brakeoperating` trolley-wires, the side-track rail9, movable switch-rail 10, the side-track brakeoperating` trolley-wire 7mounted between the rails of the side-track, the motor-operatingtrolley-wire 8 mounted beside said brakeoperating trolley-wire 7, themovable trolleywire sections 3S and 39 mounted upon opposite sides ofthe switch-rail, the ground-wire 4S connecting the end of the wire 3with the end of the wire 4t, the ground-wire 5l eonneoting,` the end ofthe wire 3 with the end of the wire 7, the iiexible Connection 49between the wire 5 and the wire 39, the flexible connection 50 betweenthe wire 39 and the wire 6, the flexible connection 52 between the wire5 and the wire 3S, the lexible connection 53 between the wire 38 and thewire 8, and means of moving said switch-rail and said trolley-wiresections 3S and 39, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SHADRACII A. MUSTAIN. IVitnesses:

B. J. MUsTAiN, K. FACKNER.

